Reflections
by OMG.bubbletea
Summary: After finally defeating Aizen, Ichigo returns to Earth, scarred, hurting, and pissing off Rukia with his angstiness. Yet even as he heals, danger lurks in memories. IchiRuki of course. My attempt at getting back into serious writing. epic fail...


**EDIT: Thx for the review, Houkaru Kisaragi. Reading over, I discovered how really juvenile that was and I fixed it...yah me . **

**XDDDD**

**Author's Note: Damn, I haven't actually written on ff for a long time. Actually, I've never actually written anything seriously on ff before (tho plenty in other places). So I guess this as good as a time to start. I'm not quite satisfied with it, and this is only a teaser chapter to gauge reaction and to see if I can continue writing without going insane with crappiness. I realized from reading other serious fics (just shows how seriously I write on ff XD) it's quite hard to keep bleach characters in IC, so I'm determined not the make the same mistake Suggestions and stuff are always welcome. Flaming is bad. Fire burns. I'll just throw bleach on it and make it explode anyways.**

**Story Note: TAKES PLACE AFTER THE CURRENT BLEACH PLOTLINE. Brief overview of what has happened since: Aizen had been defeated, killed by Gin, but not before he struck down Momo, who was protecting the fallen Toshirou. Many shinigami were killed, and at least half of the division officers were put out of commission in the final battle. Ichigo defeated Ulquiorra easily, and the rest of the Espada were either killed, or had escaped…however, seeing Momo and Captain Hitsugaya brought down by Aizen, and Rukia injured severely while defeating Tousen, left Ichigo with a sense of guilt that hasn't gone away in the last 6 months. As the shinigami began to reconstruct their splintered divisions, Rukia and Renji were sent back to the real world with Ichigo and company in order to make sure no straggling arrancars were making trouble, but in addition, Rukia wanted to keep an eye on Ichigo……(there will be a plot coming up. This isn't it)**

_disclaimer: I dun own bleach, I dun own any of the characters (tho I can dream about owning Ichigo ;3), and all the brilliance belongs solely to kubo-sensei_

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Gently, the sun's warmth drifted over the small park. Spring had come knocking, and the butterflies were out in full force, covering the field with a myriad of colors. A gentle breeze ruffled over the small creatures hovering there, and the only marring the scene was a a flying young man who landing hard on the grass, scattered the butterflies before him. And there was also the short, but hopping mad girl to reckon with.

"ICHIGO! YOU NEED TO FOCUS!!" Walking up to orange lump on the grass, Rukia hauled the shinigami up onto his feet. "I'm serious, Ichigo!" Letting him go, she pulled his sullen face down to her level, "Get your head screwed on right, or it will drop off before its time!"

He pulled his face out of her grip and towered his height over the petite shinigami. "I don't need you griping at me while I'm fighting! If you would stop distracting me--!"

"Me?! Distracting? So tell me why you're being crushed by a low level hollow!!" The hollow behind them roared. "I know what you're capable of, Ichigo!"

"What would you know what I'm capable of?! I couldn't even protect anyone! And you…you almost _died_." Not entirely meaning to reveal that last worry, the tall shinigami added on with unnescessary irritation, "How could I've faces your _brother_ if I let you die?!"

"That was months ago! Why are you still griping about—" Rukia began to protest when she noticed the familiar hurt in his eyes, masked behind his usual scowl. "Ichigo…" He turned his face away from her silently as the hollow behind them snarled. She had hoped Ichigo would have improved in the last few months after seeing the remaining shinigami rebuilding their shattered lives, but Rukia was realizing that it would take more than action and harsh words this time to bring him back to life. Leaving him slouched on the ground, the raven-haired Death God turned to the Hollow, taking it down with a well-placed blow. She walked slowly back, sitting down with a thump next to him. The silence between them stretched as the clouds glided slowly across the clear sky.

"I'm sorry." Ichigo bowed his head, his voice heavy with pain. "Rukia…I…"

"Idiot." The girl elbowed him in the ribs hard, startling his head back up. "You worry to much…whatever is holding you back, we'll find it, and defeat it together." Smiling softly, she pulled Ichigo back onto his feet, "Let's take a break."

He looked at her in surprise, "A break?"

"Yes, you fool. Let's get away from here. What do you human's do for fun?"

And for the first time in months, a smile broke out on Ichigo's face. Feeling a slight hesitation at the suddenly suspiciously cheerful look on the young man's face, Rukia scrambled off the ground. "Wait…Ichigo. What did I say? What are you doing?" Before she could react, the girl felt her arm being yanked out of its socket. "Ichigo!" Pulled behind Ichigo, Rukia tried to match his long-legged stride with her own smaller step, but having failed, she ended up following him, dragged and tripping.

"You want to know what we human's do for fun? Then let's go get everybody else." Feeling her bumping along beside him, Ichigo lugged her back to the Kurosaki household, kicking open the door to the surprised faces of Renji, Orihime, Ishida, and Chad. Ignoring them, he headed toward his bedroom to find his body lying limp on the bed.

"But where are we going?"

"Out tonight."

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**End Note: Those who know my obsession with Rent will recognize that last phrase XD I couldn't resist. So, tell me what you think. I think I've lost my touch. :(**

**Quote of the Day: "EPIC PWNNESS"**


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